Alice Helton Wilemon was my great aunt. Someone sent a copy of a newspaper article regarding Alice dated Thursday, December 4, [page 21] to my Mom many years ago. The name of the newspaper was not included. I believe the name of the newspaper was Tishomingo County News -Vidette - Belmont News. "Mrs. Alice Helton Wilemon is one of the people that witnessed the birth, life span and death of Holcut, Mississippi. In this cycle she observed several things progress as a reality giving her descendants a better way of life, sadness to the folk who had always been at home at Holcut and out of the cycle she salvaged memories to linger with her for the remaining years of her life. Miss Alice was born on December 27, 1898, one of eleven children of the late Henry (Bud) and Lou (Sis) Parsons Helton. The family's home was located just below the location that was to become Holcut, and the children grew up there and were schooled at the old Sardis School. In 1907, Mrs. Wilemon said, the little town of Holcut came into existence. The town was named for the John Holder and Eli Callicutt families, taking the first three letters of Holder and the last four letters of Callicutt, dropping one "t" and having Holduct. The country store was the business and conversation center of the tiny town and late in the year of 1907 a railroad depot was built, later other stores began to open and it was about this time that the town was named. The Holders and Callicutts were the first settlers and biggest land owners, of the community. The naming of Holcut was a memorable event involving the community as well as railroad officials. Holcut progressed and a U.S. Post Office was built. In the days that followed, Holcut grew to serve the residents. A cotton gin, owned by Bill Belue, a blacksmith shop and grist mill, owned by Mr. Percy Seago, and a barber shop, operated by Mr. Jack Bobo, were in Mrs. Wilemon's memories. She said recreation included a Saturday meeting by all the young people. Usually a baseball game against Paden, Holts, Spur, or some other community got the afternoon started. Then the young set continued their gathering by congregating on Sunday afternoon at the depot to watch the "Doodle Bug" train. Miss Alice said a restaurant opened in Holcut to add more variety to the town. The owner, Mr. John Martin, sold a delicious 5 cent hamburger. According to Miss Alice, the main attraction was a movie that came to Holcut once a week. A screen, she said set up in an empty building and a movie shown. The movie was silent and to add the necessary effects local guitar and banjo players furnished the accompanying music. On September 15, 1915, Miss Alice Helton became the bride of Admiral D. Wilemon. They began their life together in Holcut and became the parents of eight children. Mrs. Wilemon's late husband became the Postmaster in Holcut in 1944. Miss Alice said the mail came by train, twice a day, morning and evening, and this continued until about 1953, when the area became an Iuka Route. Mrs. Lucille Booker was Postmistress in the last year of the Holcut Post Office existence. During the life span of Holcut, Miss Alice recalled the school building: A two-room school which burned and was replaced by a consolidated school, which also burned in 1958. At this time the students in Holcut were transferred to Tishomingo and Burnsville schools. The gymnasium and lunch room of the consolidated school were saved when the builing burned, and Mrs. Wilemon said the Holcut Manufacturing Co., later was housed here. According to Miss Alice, this was the first factory in Holcut and it remained in operation, manufacturing shirts and ladies blouses until the Tombigbee Waterway occupied the site. At that time the factory was moved to Paden where it is still in operation. A beauty shop was opened in later years. Miss Alice reminisced, and houses were rented for $10.00 a month. The name of the streets of her hometown were Elmer Avenue, Main Street, 2nd Street and 3rd Street, Miss Alice recalled. She said the stores in Holcut began to close in the 1950's as people began to move away to find work. The last Holcut store to close was C.H. Helton's Merchantile. The store, which had been in operation for 40 years, closed when the Tombigbee Waterway occupied the area of Holcut. Miss Alice said that two acres had been given by the Callicutt family for a church building and a cemetery, but ill health prevented the building of the church. However, the cemetery was put there and is known as Callicutt Cemetery. Two different physicians practiced at Holcut during the life of the town, Miss Alice remembered. The town of Holcut dissolved, she said in the early 1970's, giving way to the construction of the Waterway. "I moved my home on Coleman park Road," she said, "and it was hard to move from the place I had lived for so many years. Mrs. Alice and her late husband are the parents of Mrs. Myrtie Wilemon Thompson, Olive Branch, MS.: Theron Ellis Wilemon, Iuka: Dorville Wilemon, Iuka, : Mrs. Elaine Wilemon Burleson, Tishomingo: Mrs. Dorothy Wilemon Nunley, Memphis; Robert Wilemon, Iuka; and Aaron Wilemon and Ethel Wilemon Wood, both deceased. There are 16 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren to add to Miss Alice's family. Still a very active lady, Miss Alice does her house work, cooking and much of her yard work. Her specialty is fried apple pies for which she is famous among family and friends. She bakes, cooks and quilts. Miss Alice recuperated from a broken leg in the winter of 1979 and using her time constructively, she quilted eighteen quilts during her convalescence. She attends the Hubbard Salem Church in her community when her health permits." ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com